Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Demand for Food Stamps Grows as Economy Struggles

FOOD STAMPS
MADDEN
AIR: 6-11-08
TRT: 7:50

INTRO:
Of the 23 million Americans using food stamps, about 350,000 are Marylanders. But not everyone who needs food stamps is getting them. Tens of thousands of Marylanders are eligible but not participating in the program.

This federal assistance program received a small boost of 10 million dollars when the farm bill passed a few weeks ago. But serious problems remain. WYPR?s Mary Rose Madden reports.

OUTRO:
To find more information about food stamps in Maryland, logon to mdhungersolutions.org or call 410.528.0021

BODY:
Food stamps don?t go as far as they used to. Originally, they were intended to be a family budget supplement. But in tough economic times, many people use food stamps as their sole source for groceries. And their value averages only three dollars a day.

Here?s 70 year old Beverly Thompson, a member of ACORN ? Associations of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Sitting at one of their recent meetings, she describes herself as a military wife for 35 years, who wound up in poverty because of her divorce.

TAPE (15 SECONDS)
IC: ?I live on 600 hundred dollars a month. That?s from the government. Rent. Pay your own electric. Pay your phone bill. Then you subsidize that food ? what have you got? It?s hard honey, It?s hard.?

Thompson says, her social security check can only stretch so far and the food stamps are not quite enough meet her needs.

TAPE (19 SECONDS)
IC: ?They started me out at 10 month when I moved here seven years ago and now it?s 60 dollars a month, but that only goes about as far as the 10 dollars did when I first got here. It?s enough to get certain types of food for maybe a week and a half.?

Thompson says when the food stamps run out, she switches from fresh vegetables to canned, from wheat bread to white, and has a less nutritious diet as a result.

(bring up lobby ambi)

The man who administers the program Ms. Thompson relies on, Kevin McGuire, is resting for lunch in the lobby of a hotel in Hunt Valley. He?s here to meet with advocates and directors of other welfare departments to discuss their policy initiatives. The food stamp program in Maryland has grown dramatically. Over the last five years, participation has increased by 40 percent. McGuire agrees that the rising cost of food has decreased the purchasing power of food stamps, and he says, the program still faces the challenge of finding and enrolling eligible citizens.



TAPE: (23 SECONDS)
IC: ?We estimate and the USDA estimates that there are probably about 550 to 600 thousand people that are eligible. Participation rate is 55-60-percent - - that?s a significant under-subscription. Problem is not only knowing the problem exists but knowing how to access it.?

Getting the message out that food stamps are available to help those with low or no income is half the battle. And the application process? For many, it begins online. And it ends at the Department of Social Services office.

Community organizations, such as ACORN, are determined to help sign people up.

TAPE: (XX SECONDS): Ciera typing : (1:00)
?We?re sitting at ACORN office with?Ciera Leto?can you show us to sign someone up? Sure. I log into earnbenefits.org. I enter the clients? name and information.?

Leto asks her clients to bring in every document they have that relates to their income, assets, or their bills. But -- as for the outreach question -- how do people come to this department of the ACORN office? She says people find out about the food stamp program when they come in for other reasons.

TAPE: (28 SECONDS)
IC: ?I?m getting my clients mainly when we do tax preparation. And they check that they want more info to help pay their bills. So I call them and let them know what they can qualify for and I let them know the income requirements. After you give them a boost to come in that?s when they will come in but I normally don?t have people just come in off the street saying they need help bc they?re bills are too high.?

As Leto finishes the online eligibility questionaire, she talks about the actual success rate for her clients? food stamp applications. She says she?s helped about 300 people determine if they?re eligible. Of those?

TAPE: (30 SECONDS)
IC: ?Percentage of people who receive the food stamps? Prolly like 60%, 40% might not go have their interview, they just might not be eligible. They think it?s overwhelming to got to social services. They?ve tried it so many times, they give up. But at least when they apply online they know everything trhey need to bring with them. I refer everyone to the main office location on Broadway ? it?s 2000 North Broadway.?

(Bring in ambi of parking lot)

Off to the second part of the food stamp application process.

TAPE: (2 SECONDS)
IC: ?I?m from the legal aid bureau. I have some information about your rights.?

On this sunny Spring morning, Legal Aid?s Peter Sabonis is handing out brochures
in the parking lot of the Baltimore Department of Social Services?s main office, which is located behind the Eastside District court at Broadway and North Avenue.


TAPE (24 SECONDS)
IC: ?What we?re doing is trying to get out in front of Social Services offices and help people understand what their rights are and help people understand they have some advocates who can work with them if they?re having problems with the bearocracy or with access.?

It?s Legal Aid?s version of outreach. Sabonis, like many others, says that this second step of the application process is what trips up so many of the potential participants. Getting the paperwork right, meeting the deadlines and keeping the appointments, and just overall working with an overworked Department of Social Services boggs down the process. Again, Peter Sabonis:

TAPE (31 SECONDS()
IC: ?States have flexibility in this program. Here in MD, we hope to see a real move away from having to come into the DSS. There are some other models out there ? using community based organizations, the telephone, and internet?to the extent we can avoid this bottleneck, the better we can deliver these benefits. ?

(ambi of lobby)

Back at the conference in the hotel lobby in Hunt Valley, Maryland Food Stamp Director Kevin McGuire, talks about the great need for food stamps in today?s economy. Rising gas and electric rates, food prices, housing costs, and unemployment -- all have given people even more incentive to seek assistance. On the positive side, the Farm Bill lowered eligibility levels and accounts for inflation. But on the negative side, McGuire adds, some who need help buying food still aren?t eligible for the federal assistance.

TAPE (35 SECONDS)
IC: ? Unfortunately, they may be eligible for emergency food stamps but they may not be able to qualify for ongoing assistance bc they have a number of assets and income ? it?s pointing out that even within safety net program, it?s not actually reflecting the great need that?s out there. Program was created a long time ago. I don?t think anybody anticipated the price of gas, bread, and eggs.?

To be eligible for food stamps, a family of four must make no more than 26,800 dollars a year. That?s just 30 percent higher than the federal poverty level. McGuire, from the Maryland Department of Human Resources, views that figure disapprovingly.

TAPE: (35 SECONDS)
IC: ?One hundred-30 percent. That?s not a lot of money.?

McGuire adds the food stamp program could and should be pushed to serve more people with more benefits. So, how does Kevin McGuire view The Farm Bill?s overall impact?

TAPE: (70 SECONDS)
IC: ? I think if they had spent a little more time talking about increasing the benefits than they did, I?m happy with what?s there, I just feel in light of current circumstance it?s not enough. We could double the benefits and double the amount of people who could receive it. And it would be the greatest shot in the arm for the state.

As the Director of the State?s program, McGuire sees the challenges the food stamp program faces as indicative of the larger picture: More and more families are feeling the stress of a stretched budget and the urgency of helping them with food stamps is undeniable.

I?m Mary Rose Madden, reporting from Baltimore for 88-1, WYPR.